Macy's Plans To Reopen GA Stores Monday, All US Stores In 6 Weeks

ATLANTA, GA — Macy’s will begin to reopen all of its stores starting with Georgia and South Carolina on Monday, according to reports. The department store plans to reopen approximately 68 locations on Monday. They will continue to monitor infection rates of the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

All of Macy’s stores have been shut since March 18.

The company expects to have all of its 775 stores reopened in six weeks if the coronavirus cases decline and states allow retailers to reopen, a spokeswoman confirmed to CNBC.

The 68 Macy’s stores that would reopen first would operate on reduced business hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. About 25% of these locations are in Simon Property Group’s malls.

Simon Properties announced this week that it will reopen its seven Georgia malls Friday and unshutter 42 other shopping centers nationwide over the weekend.

Macy’s says it will implement numerous precautions, including social distancing, to keep customers and workers safe.

Workers will have to take their temperatures before coming in and they’ll be required to wear masks in the stores.

Only a few fitting rooms will be open at a time. Any items that have been tried on will be held for 24 hours before returning to the racks. The same goes for returned items.

The retail giant accumulated about $5 billion in debt to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, CNBC reported. Widespread store closures put a financial strain on the company, which had been looking to use its real estate and inventory as collateral.

On March 20, Macy’s said it has fully drawn its $1.5 billion revolving credit facility. It also furloughed the majority of its 130,000 workers.

Company executives told employees that most would continue to be furloughed at least through May, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The health and safety of our customers, colleagues and communities is our utmost priority,” Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc., said in a statement earlier this month.

“As a result of the recent COVID-19 developments, we have decided to temporarily close our stores. We will work with government and health officials to assess when we will reopen our stores and safely bring our colleagues back to work. During this closure, we will continue to serve our customers through our e-commerce sites.”